My solicitor has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying in Bramford. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our property lawyer has advised that he must check that the bank is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the bank?

Even though you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their specifications for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the lender are the client. The appropriate lender requirements have to be complied with.

A colleague pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Bramford there may be a number of restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external alterations to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Bramford which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Bramford should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Bramford off the council. I have a mortgage offer with HSBC. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Bramford. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

Will my conveyancer be raising questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Bramford.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Bramford. Plenty of people will buy a house in Bramford, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Bramford. The standard completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the owner to find out if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser could bring a claim for damages resulting from an inaccurate answer. A purchaser’s lawyers may also commission an enviro report. This will higlight if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be made.

How does conveyancing in Bramford differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Bramford come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because house builders in Bramford tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Bramford or who has acted in the same development.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Bramford and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Bramford. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Bramford area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Bramford. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found